Tail autotomy effects on the escape behavior of the lizard Gonatodes albogularis (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae), from Córdoba, Colombia

Background: Caudal autotomy appears to be an adaptation strategy to reduce the risk of being preyed upon. In an encounter with a predator, the prey must reduce the risk of being preyed upon, and one of the strategies that has exerted a strong pressure on selection has been tail loss. In lizards, it has been demonstrated that tail loss reduces the probability of survival in the event of a second attack; therefore, they must resort to new escape strategies to reduce the risk of falling prey. In order to evaluate the effect of tail loss on the escape behavior of Gonatodes albogularis in natural conditions, we took samples from a forest interior population. We expected that individuals that had not lost their tails would allow the predator to get closer than those that had lost it. For each sample, we recorded the following: (1) escape behavior, measured through three distances (e.g., approach distance, escape distance, and final distance); (2) distance to shelter; and (3) length of tail. We included only males in the study since we did not record any females without a tail and far fewer with a regenerated tail. Results: We found that tail loss does have an effect on the escape behavior of G. albogularis. Males that have their tails intact allow the predator to come closer, and we found a negative correlation between the approach distance and the length of the tail. Conclusion: Our results support the escape behavior theory, in which G. albogularis males drop their tails when the risk of predation is much higher than the cost of fleeing.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Tail autotomy effects on the escape behavior of the lizard Gonatodes albogularis (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae), from Córdoba, Colombia

Background: Caudal autotomy appears to be an adaptation strategy to reduce the risk of being preyed upon. In an encounter with a predator, the prey must reduce the risk of being preyed upon, and one of the strategies that has exerted a strong pressure on selection has been tail loss. In lizards, it has been demonstrated that tail loss reduces the probability of survival in the event of a second attack; therefore, they must resort to new escape strategies to reduce the risk of falling prey. In order to evaluate the effect of tail loss on the escape behavior of Gonatodes albogularis in natural conditions, we took samples from a forest interior population. We expected that individuals that had not lost their tails would allow the predator to get closer than those that had lost it. For each sample, we recorded the following: (1) escape behavior, measured through three distances (e.g., approach distance, escape distance, and final distance); (2) distance to shelter; and (3) length of tail. We included only males in the study since we did not record any females without a tail and far fewer with a regenerated tail. Results: We found that tail loss does have an effect on the escape behavior of G. albogularis. Males that have their tails intact allow the predator to come closer, and we found a negative correlation between the approach distance and the length of the tail. Conclusion: Our results support the escape behavior theory, in which G. albogularis males drop their tails when the risk of predation is much higher than the cost of fleeing.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Estudio de la transferencia de calor en la etapa de cocido en la elaboración de aceitunas verdes al estilo sevillano

En este artículo se describe por primera vez a nivel industrial el aumento de temperatura que se produce en el interior de los tanques de elaboración durante la etapa de cocido. A partir del estudio de las características térmicas de la etapa de cocido se han podido determinar relaciones entre las variables que definen el proceso. Se ha demostrado que la temperatura al inicio del tratamiento de cocido influye en otras de las características del proceso como la duración de éste o la pendiente del aumento lineal de temperatura durante la etapa. El estudio establece que esta generación de calor puede provenir principalmente de las reacciones de hidrólisis alcalina que ocurren en el interior del fruto y, en menor proporción, de la dilución de la solución de hidróxido de sodio con el agua presente en la pulpa de las aceitunas

Study of the heat transfer during the alkaline treatment in the processing of Spanish Style green table olives

En este artículo se describe por primera vez a nivel industrial el aumento de temperatura que se produce en el interior de los tanques de elaboración durante la etapa de cocido. A partir del estudio de las características térmicas de la etapa de cocido se han podido determinar relaciones entre las variables que definen el proceso. Se ha demostrado que la temperatura al inicio del tratamiento de cocido influye en otras de las características del proceso como la duración de éste o la pendiente del aumento lineal de temperatura durante la etapa. El estudio establece que esta generación de calor puede provenir principalmente de las reacciones de hidrólisis alcalina que ocurren en el interior del fruto y, en menor proporción, de la dilución de la solución de hidróxido de sodio con el agua presente en la pulpa de las aceitunas

Hierarchical Color Quantization with a Neural Gas Model Based on Bregman Divergences

In this paper, a new color quantization method based on a self-organized artificial neural network called the Growing Hierarchical Bregman Neural Gas (GHBNG) is proposed. This neural network is based on Bregman divergences, from which the squared Euclidean distance is a particular case. Thus, the best suitable Bregman divergence for color quantization can be selected according to the input data. Moreover, the GHBNG yields a tree-structured model that represents the input data so that a hierarchical color quantization can be obtained, where each layer of the hierarchy contains a different color quantization of the original image. Experimental results confirm the color quantization capabilities of this approach.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Potencial utilización de la termografía infrarroja para la lectura de la IDTB en cabras

En este trabajo se pretende estudiar la potencial utilización de la TI (Termografía infrarroja) en la lectura de la IDTB (intradermotuberculinización) en cabras. El análisis de las temperaturas mostró un aumento significativo a las 24h postinoculación de la tuberculina en el conjunto de los individuos, no observándose influencia significativa de la capa de los animales sobre las temperaturas. La comparación de los resultados de ambas técnicas no evidenció asociación significativa.The aim of this experiment is to study the potential use of IT (infrared termography) for measurement of PPD (Purified protein derivate) test in goats. The study of the temperatures showed a significant increase at 24hours post-inoculation of the PPD in the set of all the individuals, not being observed significant influence of the colour of the animals on the temperatures. The comparison of the results from the PPD skin test, and IT did not demonstrate significant association

Factors affecting the performance of P22 ELISA for the diagnosis of caprine tuberculosis in milk samples

Caprine tuberculosis (TB) is a zoonosis caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). Caprine TB eradication programmes are based mainly on intradermal tuberculin tests and slaughterhouse surveillance. However, the use of serological test has been extended as a potential diagnostic tool in goats through the use of serum, plasma, or even milk samples. Milk production and the antibodies (Ab) present in milk can vary depending on several circumstances. In the present study, different factors that may affect the performance of humoral TB diagnosis were analysed using goat milk samples: 1) lactation stage, 2) a recent previous skin test (booster effect) and 3) the effect of freeze-thaw cycles on milk samples preserved with azidiol. TB-infected animals (n = 44) were selected to evaluate the evolution of the Ab levels during the 6-month lactation period, along with its potential effect on the P22 ELISA results. In general, no significant changes (p = 0.079) were observed throughout the study as regards Ab levels in milk samples between consecutive analysis although the reactivity to P22 ELISA decreased when samplings were performed at the last two months of the lactation. Regarding the booster effect, the quantitative results showed a significant variation (p < 0.001) for both milk and serum samples when serological tests were carried out 15 days after the skin test. Finally, there were no significant differences (p = 0.99) in the P22 ELISA results when using milk samples preserved with azidiol that had undergone freeze-thaw cycles.This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the project “Análisis del proceso de erradicación de la tuberculosis caprina a largo plazo y desarrollo de pruebas de diagnóstico y medidas de control para su mejora (GoaTBfree-UCM, reference PID2019-105155RB-C31) and the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. JO was supported by an FPU (Formación de Profesorado Universitario) contract-fellowship provided by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (FPU18/05197).S

Tail autotomy effects on the escape behavior of the lizard Gonatodes albogularis (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae), from Córdoba, Colombia

Background: Caudal autotomy appears to be an adaptation strategy to reduce the risk of being preyed upon. In an encounter with a predator, the prey must reduce the risk of being preyed upon, and one of the strategies that has exerted a strong pressure on selection has been tail loss. In lizards, it has been demonstrated that tail loss reduces the probability of survival in the event of a second attack; therefore, they must resort to new escape strategies to reduce the risk of falling prey. In order to evaluate the effect of tail loss on the escape behavior of Gonatodes albogularis in natural conditions, we took samples from a forest interior population. We expected that individuals that had not lost their tails would allow the predator to get closer than those that had lost it. For each sample, we recorded the following: (1) escape behavior, measured through three distances (e.g., approach distance, escape distance, and final distance); (2) distance to shelter; and (3) length of tail. We included only males in the study since we did not record any females without a tail and far fewer with a regenerated tail. Results: We found that tail loss does have an effect on the escape behavior of G. albogularis. Males that have their tails intact allow the predator to come closer, and we found a negative correlation between the approach distance and the length of the tail. Conclusion: Our results support the escape behavior theory, in which G. albogularis males drop their tails when the risk of predation is much higher than the cost of fleeing.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Effect of the topical administration of corticosteroids and tuberculin pre-sensitisation on the diagnosis of tuberculosis in goats

Background: Caprine tuberculosis (TB) is a zoonosis caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). Caprine TB control and eradication programmes have traditionally been based on intradermal tuberculin tests and slaughterhouse surveillance. However, this strategy has limitations in terms of sensitivity and specificity. Different factors may affect the performance of the TB diagnostic tests used in goats and, subsequently, the detection of TB-infected animals. In the present study, the effect of two of the factors that may affect the performance of the techniques used to diagnose TB in goats, the topical administration of corticosteroids and a recent pre-sensitisation with tuberculin, was analysed. Methods: The animals (n = 151) were distributed into three groups: (1) a group topically treated with corticosteroids 48 h after intradermal tuberculin tests (n = 53); (2) a group pre-sensitised with bovine and avian purified protein derivatives (PPDs) 3 days before the intradermal tuberculin test used for TB diagnosis (n = 48); and (3) a control group (n = 50). All the animals were tested using single and comparative intradermal tuberculin (SIT and CIT, respectively) tests, an interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) and a P22 ELISA. Results: The number of SIT test reactors was significantly lower in the group treated with corticosteroids when compared to the pre-sensitised (p 0.05). No significant effect was observed on IGRA and P22 ELISA due to corticosteroids administration. Nevertheless, a previous PPD injection affected the IGRA performance in some groups. Conclusions: The application of topical corticosteroid 24 h before reading the SIT and CIT tests can reduce the increase in skin fold thickness and subsequently significantly decrease the number of positive reactors. Corticosteroids used can be detected in hair samples. A previous pre-sensitisation with bovine and avian PPDs does not lead to a significant reduction in the number of intradermal tests reactors. These results are valuable in order to improve diagnosis of caprine TB and detect fraudulent activities in the context of eradication programs.This study was funded by the “Analysis of the long-term caprine tuberculosis eradication process and development of diagnostic tests and control measures for its improvement (GoaTBfree-UCM)” Project (PID2019-105155RB-C31, Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Spain. JO was supported by an FPU contract-fellowship (Formación de Profesorado Universitario) from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (FPU18/05197).S

Coils and power supplies design for the SMART tokamak

Agredano-Torres, M., et al.A new spherical tokamak, the SMall Aspect Ratio Tokamak (SMART), is currently being designed at the University of Seville. The goal of the machine is to achieve a toroidal field of 1 T, a plasma current of 500 kA and a pulse length of 500 ms for a plasma with a major radius of 0.4 m and minor radius of 0.25 m. This contribution presents the design of the coils and power supplies of the machine. The design foresees a central solenoid, 12 toroidal field coils and 8 poloidal field coils. Taking the current waveforms for these set of coils as starting point, each of them has been designed to withstand the Joule heating during the tokamak operation time. An analytical thermal model is employed to obtain the cross sections of each coil and, finally, their dimensions and parameters. The design of flexible and modular power supplies, based on IGBTs and supercapacitors, is presented. The topologies and control strategy of the power supplies are explained, together with a model in MATLAB Simulink to simulate the power supplies performance, proving their feasibility before the construction of the system.This work received funding from the Fondo Europeo de Desarollo Regional (FEDER) by the European Commission under grant agreement numbers IE17-5670 and US-15570. Furthermore, it has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014–2018 and 2019–2020 under grant agreement no. 633053. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission